This morning, Walmart, one of the world’s biggest companies – and the nation’s biggest food seller by a long shot – announced it has adopted the “five freedoms” principles for farm animals, effectively renouncing the use of extreme confinement and other abusive practices in animal agriculture, and signaling an extraordinary change in agriculture in America. Precisely because it’s Walmart, this is the most definitive statement yet that the era of confining farm animals in cages will come to an end. We applaud the company for adopting a comprehensive animal welfare policy, which comes on the heels of dozens of other declarations and pledges from other major food retailers against gestation crates, battery cages, and tail docking of dairy cows.

Walmart is calling on its suppliers to, among other actions, work toward ensuring that animals: 1) are raised in ways that allow them to engage in natural behaviors, including having sufficient space and socialization with other members of their species, 2) be provided more comfortable living conditions, 3) are free from painful mutilations 4) be spared mental discomfort or distress, and 5) be given ready access to water and feed. These changes, so grounded in common sense, would nonetheless herald major improvements over how much of agribusiness currently treats animals.

This policy applies for all of Walmart’s U.S. operations and includes its subsidiary Sam’s Club. With the company capturing a staggering 25 percent of the grocery market, there’s no greater agent of change within our country’s food system.

As Walmart says, this announcement is part of its pledge to continually improve farm animal welfare. In other words: it’s a first step—and like all first steps, there’s room for more. For example, Walmart doesn’t yet have timelines for getting animals out of cages, or for achieving its commitments on other welfare issues—something we hope to solve with the company.

Timelines aside, this announcement helps create an economy where no agribusiness company—for business reasons alone—should ever again install a new battery cage, gestation crate, or veal crate. Walmart is helping drive the transition away from immobilizing cages and other inhumane practices, and toward a more humane, more sustainable approach to production agriculture.

This is an unstoppable trend, and that was the trajectory even before Walmart made the announcement. The company’s embrace of a more ethical framework for the treatment of all farm animals serves as perhaps the most powerful catalyst for change throughout animal agriculture.

We still have a long way to go – not just working with Walmart during the implementation of this policy. There’s also convincing states to put basic standards in the law, the few corporations that have made no commitments to catch up, and consumers to eat more consciously. But this will be a day long remembered – a remarkable inflection point in our movement and a marker in the demise of an industrial system of production that treats living creatures as little more than meat-, milk-, and egg-producing machines. We appreciate the relationship we’ve built with Walmart and we’re eager to lend our voice as the company continues down this journey of creating a better, more humane food system.

Allelujah! Thanks God for the better treatment of animals. Hopefully 1day they will be treated humanely as we as humans should treat every living being! Im more than thankful for this great change. Thanks n God Bless!!

Even if it’s just talk it is at least bringing the issues of factory farming to more peoples attention. If people start to realize where their food is coming from and start making more humane choices when purchasing meat products the industry will not have a choice in the matter. They will have to adopt more humane farming methods. I hope that it’s not just talk though.

We should also not forget that it was ordinary individual people like you and me that refused to buy from Walmart because of the abuse of pigs for example, at the Tyson farms. So Walmart didn’t come to this decision all by itself over some altruism. They are face losing business too.

I would suspect that most animals are treated better and have better living conditions than a third of American’s. If an animal is not healthy and comfortable, it will not gain weight, produce milk, lay eggs, etc. That is what drives farmers profitability. I have lived on a farm all of my life and have been around hundred’s of livestock farmers. These are some of the most compassionate people I have ever met.

As far as harmful mutilation, I will accept that argument when people quit getting tattoo’s and body piercings.

You obviously have never visited a commercial farming facility if you think that those farm animals live better than a third of Americans. There are plenty of videos and pictures to show you what life on a commercial farm is really like, please take a look and rethink your statement.

Also, your point about tattoos makes no sense as people make educated choices to inflict that pain upon themselves, animals have no such choice.

Kudos to Wal-Mart for this huge step. But enforcement will be key.
How about you other food oulets? Namely Costco, Kroger, Safeway & Albertson’s?!! Time for you to step up as well. Southern Foods, affiliated with Bi-Lo Stores is. Huge offender. I will not eat any foods from them & urge others not to as well!

First ,thank you Walmart for making changes.Please don’t take years to make the changes these animals have suffer for to long. I don’t buy meat because of the way the animals are treated. Make changes asap!!!

Thank you, Walmart! I hope you follow through to pressure factory farms to treat livestock like living beings! Just because an animal may end up as a meal, doesn’t mean it can’t have a decent life before then. Or that the slaughter has to be grotesque & painful. Even in nature, where a predator must kill for a meal, prey animals live a normal life for their species. So should livestock!

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that farmers were forced to adopt some of these horrible conditions, by companies like Wal-Mart. Trying to drive their cost down. The only reason they are announcing these changes is through public pressure, they truly have no regard for the animals or farming practices, but for the bottom dollar. I urge everyone to join as many advocacy groups as you can. We need to force our food providers to provide us with the most healthy foods available. Companies like Monsanto and others are killing us and our children.

I agree! Employees taking out their evil on innocent animal’s is dispicable & they MUST be held accountable & charged for their crimes! These poor animals can’t speak up, or defend themselves & therefore the companies MUST assure that their employees are not violating them & the law’s protecting them. Companies should not allow these abuses to continue & go unpunished. They should be willing to install cameras in all areas of their facilities & have strict clear policies against these abuses & follow through with firing ANYONE violating these laws & reporting them to authorities so that they are brought up on 1st degree animal felony charges!. If companies know that these abuses are going on under their roof & doing nothing about it, then they are accessories to the crime & deserve to be punished as well!

I agree with you 100%no one should get away with animal abuse and there should now be cameras set up to catch anyone breaking the law and they should be jailed for life! No more animal abuse it’s bad enough to know that in the end these animals will end up on some one’s table and be
a person’s breakfast lunch or dinner the thought of this still bothers me but they definitely don’t need to be miss treated as well. Thankyou Walmart, but it is time for all other stores to get off there lazy behinds and take a stand like Walmart has just done. Please it’s time to get up and take a stand for the animals I’m talking to all of you big corporate companies in the food and supermarket industries do what’s right!not for money save lives.treat the animals right.

Yes I agree!!!! When someone tosses a dog or a puppy off of a balcony like its a stuff toy they need to pay for it like it was someone’s child. That animal is one of God’s creatures that has no one to look out for its well being. It’s innocent in all of this, it’s only crime was wanting to love the wrong person. The rest of us need to pick it up and nurture it back to health. We also need prosecute the perpetrators to the greatest degree possible. The majority of killers start out killing what? Animals! ! ! Don’t let it be your baby! ! !

Reading this was an extraordinary way to start my day! (I do hope, however, that agribusiness doesn’t just move its operations to Mexico or some other country where they could continue their cruel practices. It seems that would be easy to do. Is Walmart committed to buying only animal products raised in the US or other countries that have farm animal protection laws?)

The writing is on the wall: the 20th century factory farm system of maximizing animal production no matter how cruel, is doomed. We welcome the new, humane economy of the 21st century with open arms. Perhaps the next century will see so many people become vegans we won’t need large animal farms at all!

Great statement & very well stated David!! So walmart..when is this ever “supposedly” going to happen?? You have no idea & really do not care but you made your boastful statement so perhaps we as Animal Rights Workers & Animal Rights Organizations will back off from your exposure of horrific cruelty to helpless, innocent, intelligent & EXTREMELY loving Animals..living beings having the right to live as much or perhaps more so than many so called humans!!!!

Really winding them up is not going to help at all. Why not concentrate on the step forward, instead of lambasting them for not being perfect. This is the trouble with many animal rights people – it seems they just want an outlet for their complaints without thinking of the consequences.

Well done Walmart a lot of us appreciate the start you have made, and it should make your subsidiary in the UK, ASDA think – at present they are a long way behind such (admittedly smaller) companies as Waitrose and Marks and Spencer. Even one of the ‘big four’ Sainsbury is well engaged in trying to make things better for animals.

I totally agree with you when is this going to happen or is it just a stupid comment made so we’ll all relax and say ok finally now someone’s going to take care of it tell me when tell me what day tell me what year…

Amazing words. I do know that with water supplies going down and cost to raise a farm animal being so much it will get harder to farm animals. It eventually will be cheaper to buy a lab raised meat source instead of a real animal. Soon vegan ism will be wide spread. I only hope to see it in my lifetime!

I am so happy to hear about some companies are having compassion for the animals. They are all God’s creatures they all have feelings. It is so cruel to treat them that way. Thank you Walmart and any other companies that are trying to stop this cruelty to all animals

This is a great idea until the product becomes inconsistent, food safety is poor, cost goes up, and they lose customers. And if they’re guaranteeing they be spared mental discomfort and distress I’d like to know how they’re going to calculate that feature in an animal. They need be more cautious with their marketing they’re treading on areas that cannot be measured and always controlled, and there is quite a bit of gray area in “raised in ways that allow natural behaviors” but denounce confinement you can raise animals to be allowed more natural behaviors and still be in confinement. I’m also really interested in their focus groups who get to try meat from animals who have not been castrated its going to be nasty. I’d like to point out that these practices are consumer driven, yes say it again, consumer driven. You asked for a consistent, safe, lean, flavorful product at a low price and its been provided to you at your convenience at the grocery store. I’m sorry to announce that you’re going to be very unhappy with this new consumer based trend but like before we as producers will deliver!

i refused to shop there cause of it now that they are supporting animal rights they got my business back what you forget is some people don’t care bout the price as news flash meat is expensive either way so you can bring up profits and such doesn’t change the fact meat is still expensive either way and also yea there still being killed for food but at least make them comfortable till then least we can do considering there meant for food. and no offense dude Walmart isn’t going to loose customers any time soon even with this decision and you can believe that they aren’t making most of there money from meat so they won’t be going anywhere or loosing customers. they make money from other merchandise as well which will still cover it all in the long run.

But people do make decisions based on cost, maybe not you personally, but people do and we’re not talking a few dollars increase in cost think double or triple the current cost. Also, they are comfortable from the time they’re born to when they are killed for food and the entire process is overseen through the USDA and veterinarians through either regular inspections or on site personnel.

Research Temple Grandin at Colorado State University she is the leading authority for humane livestock handling. Yes there are governing bodies through the USDA to ensure humane raising and handling of livestock from birth to death.

These are animals we are concerned about, not products, as you refer to them. I’m surprised that you use the term ‘focus groups’ when referring to the millions of human beings who are upset and boycott ‘meat’ once discovering the horrors of factory farming and that they’ve been unwittingly participating in their abuse. Animals used for food will be treated better. Simple as that-if animal farmers want to stay in business. Hopefully, one day, humans will come to our senses and realize that eating animals is barbaric and completely unnecessary despite what meat producers would have us believe.

First I’m not referencing the animals as product I’m referencing the meat, seeing as that’s what wal-mart has for sale. Second, I reference focus groups as those individuals who will taste test the product (meat) being sold, which determines what consumers want. Not in reference to consumers who are boycotting meat. As a meat producer I will speak for others that we don’t go around beating our livestock. You can check out Temple Grand in who is the leading authority on livestock behavior and handling, based out of Colorado State University. Her research is driving safer more humane livestock production practices, and slaughter house practices to insure humane treatment of all animals from birth to your plate. I suggest you do more research than reading random websites online. As a producer and omnivore I enjoy my livestock and treat them with great care, I also balance my diet with meat. If you chose a different diet that’s your choice, I however make different choices. And if you do research more carefully you’ll notice a direct correlation between poor production and abuse- meaning if we were abusing our animals they wouldn’t produce and we would lose money so it doesn’t benefit us to go that direction. And I’ll leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling, my bathtub has had more baby livestock in it in an attempt to keep them alive and healthy than I can count.

It’s about time one of the largest food chains did something to protect innocent animals. Glad I support you by shopping there. God bless you. Please follow through to see that your protection orders are followed.

While this sounds encouraging initially, I have two concerns: 1st, I fear they are trying to gain great public relations while hoping we don’t notice the key phrase that this new policy will apply to “all of Wal-Mart’s U. S. Operations”. This is very deceptive because I recently saw beef for sale in my local Wal-Mart that came from Mexico. 2nd, even if this DID apply to American animals, I didn’t see a specific date for implementation. I don’t mean to sound negative but I want all of us to beware of potentially false or misleading advertising.

Amen , well said , most of the yea Walmart commenters have never been on any kind of beef or poultry production farm or ranch! If they ever dealt with Walmart on the production side they would know Walmart doesn’t care, they want to buy the cheapest beef or poultry they can purchase and dictate the price to the producer and don’t care how the animals are treated ! This is a huge publicity statement that carries no merit and I’d advise those that don’t know about animal production tour a production facility and see how producers take care of their production units

It’s one thing to announce it but it’s another thing to set a timeline and implement. And although the 5 things listed is a start, a critical item that should be first on the list is to adopt a new no tolerance standard of care by the workers who routinely beat and torture these animals mercilessly. Fire these backwoods idiots and get people who understand the health and well-being of the animal through life and slaughter translates into a better product. Intelligent farmers get this!! It has been studies and proven. Factory farmers should be done away with completely in my opinion. So Wal-Mart, get busy and make REAL expedient changes.

This is great news with Walmart changing their ways with farm animals …still make me sad these beautiful and innocent animals are still killed for food … hoping one day this will stop all together.
NOW we need Walmart to stop selling goldfish and other pet fish….I have been writing their corporate office and get offered gift cards to keep quiet. My local Walmart and all their stores sell fish and no one takes care of them. Nothing to interest them in the tanks, many dead fish floating at the bottom and even seen other fish pecking at them since they are hungry and not being fed. It would be great if HSUS steps in to help get big box stores to stop selling fish or any live animal.

Sounds like a step in the right direction no matter what the motivation behind it may be. I just hope it is all above board with no hidden agenda….for the animals sake! I tend to be a pessimist when it comes to animal rights because they are so vulnerable and people can be so indifferent to their suffering…be it physical or emotional. I truly hope Walmart takes this and MANY more steps in this direction. This is one issue I would love to have to eat my words when I say I don’t trust them or the industry.

I think it’s hypocritical of us to focus our attention on major companies or any company that sells meat to the public if we didn’t eat meat there would be no need for these practices I would prefer that HSUS concentrate their efforts on stopping Asian countries from the torture killing and eating dogs and cats.

I understand that it takes time. I hope to see their timeline for these five freedom principles enacted . Meanwhile I will still hold off shopping from Wal-Mart til I see them act on this, and see how they plan on ensuring us that the meat they sell hold to these five freedom principles.

THANK YOU Wal-Mart! I will start shopping more at your stores. Please keep up the momentum and hold the farming community accountable for their actions. You can help thousands of animals live a better life free from cruelty and torture.

Thank you for your help walmark you need to help all the animals this are God animals no more abuse. Put all people’s
That kill animals to make
Costs shoes. Handbags
All kinds of meat. To cook
Put them all in jail
Shot all company down
Let all animals live there left
Until there end of life

While this is a step in the right direction… and animals should have room to move .. some practices like castration and dehorning are necessary to keep the animals from injuring and torturing each other… while they are “interacting naturally”!!!
However.. there are some more humane and some less humane ways to perform these procedures… for example.. it should be done at a very young age.. it is much harder on an older animal… Just like circumcisions …
And if a male pig is not castrated very young… nobody will want to eat that meat! It ruins the taste totally. Once again .. there are more and less humane methods…
MY MAIN CONCERN THOUGH IS THAT THEY WILL JUST IMPORT THE MEAT FROM PLACES THAT ARE MUCH WORSE!

I am speechless! Thank you Walmart for such a big step, I hope that others will follow. I hate cruelty and inhumane treatment to animals!!!!! This gives me and my family even more of a reason to shop at Walmart!!! Way to go “WALMART”!!!!

This is awesome. Tyson change ur ways or shut down! I’ve witness their insane chicken raising. Not to mention the crap they feed them full of growth hormones and constant 24 hr feeding that cripples them from growing too fast . Fyi.. those giant breasts and legs yall nosh on are the result of this feeding process.. thier legs deform and collapse .. sometimes break and cripple them and only a couple of months old.. KUDOS WALMART

Whilst I believe that this is a good step in the right direction for Animal rights. I can’t help but think that this was an insanely smart marketing strategy to move away from the fact that Wal-Mart doesn’t want to treat their own workers better first. This announcement is mere days after California inacted their $15\hr minimum wage requirements. What a great way to distract with the one hand while fighting with the other. The bigger problem with this is that is really is simply a statement that effects USA farmers only. Meanwhile WalMart is still one of the biggest importers of goods from China who severely lack in any kind of living anything rights and protections.

This is wonderful news! Keep in mind, however, that many of these changes are being made due to private surveillance within meat production and slaughter houses. If it weren’t for that, we would have no idea what these animals go thru in their very short lives. We must fight the Ag Gag bills that are designed to hide these atrocities from the public. We have the power to get it done!

walmart are a corporation, that automatically makes them pathological, they are not human beings, they are soul-less, devoid of Morals and Narcissistic by nature.
so when you see articles as this, it is only to try and save their image,
recently walmart was in the news as losing a large percentage of sales. so now they want to make it appear that they have a heart and we should stand behind them. do fall for their propaganda bs,
it is never the likes of walmart or any corporation to protect animals, it has and always be the hard work of good hearted people like us, NOT WALMART!

What amazing news!!!! Thank you WalMart. You are doing the right thing. I only hope other large and small business will follow your lead. You have my full and complete support. I will continue shopping at WalMart with increased respect and gratitude. Thank you for caring.

this is the best news! it brings tears of joy. we must do our best to respect all life. it takes is public outcry to raise consciousness. we should not rest on these accomplishments but keep animal welfare of paramount importance, always and continue to petition for reform in farming practices.

These so called 5 steps that Walmart is taking to produce better quality products are already in place by farmers. Farmers are good people and depend on their animals as their livelihood so why would they want to hurt their animals? People WAKE UP, if you have questions about farming practices I challenge you to go talk to your local poultry or swine farmer to find out the truth about agriculture and not all of the lies that HSUS tries to feed you!

OK Frank,
I would like to challenge YOU sir, to watch all the disturbing videos of the subhuman garbage that many farmers hire to work on their farms. I’m not saying all farmers are like this, but YOU need to wake up. Educate yourself, it is NOT a pretty picture. Then to top it off, these idiots get a slap on the wrist with just a small fine. Like I said….No not all farmers are like this, or let these things happen, but even if it was only 1, that is still too many. When you have seen some of these videos (bet you could find them on YouTube) then come back on here and tell us what you think. Please take off your rose colored glasses!!!

So…wouldn’t it make sense to have a deadline by which to phase out these things? I know that things don’t happen overnight, but it would be great to have a goal.
Also if you’re really serious about the treatment of animals altogether, we need to stop EATING them! Let’s start encouraging people to consider a vegetarian or a vegan lifestyle!

I’ll reserve rejoicing over WM & their practices in anything until I actually see changes made! Better wages, benefits & vacation time for their staff…stop buying half their products from China, stop selling inferior pet food, sick fish in their fish section…the list goes on & on! I’m NOT a Walmart shopper, never have been, probably never will be. When you walk the walk Walmart, I ‘might’ come around…it’s doubtful tho, your crappy track record will continue to haunt you!

Horay!!! And thank you Walmart ❗️ This is just the first step and many more to go in so many areas in this horrible abuse to our farm animals. We need to keep pushing for more companies to join Walmart and on the other end the farm producers to install cameras to check themselves and their help. In the meantime these poor animals are still suffering.❗️

Why stop at animal welfare? Why doesn’t Wal-Mart also support conservation agricultural practices (not necessarily organic agriculture) for its produce as well? Conservation ag results in better soil health, lower fertilizer and pesticide use, lower water use, better air and water quality, and crop yields are as good as or better than conventional ag farming practices.

I’ll believe it when I see it. It’s a very nice gesture tho. Wal-Mart can set a HUGE example to other retailers if it does this. There is really only one way to solve this problem….. Become a vegetarian, or eat less meat.

True green greed, but Good Ole Sam and God could be moving mountains using the green! The only thing that can make it better for animals now is the green. Animal abuse is so condoned by so many masses now that no one can speak for animals anymore and get something done without green tonage. I’d say Sam did this …. he is the real owner and he loved animals….as far as animals go Sam may know that the green can’t speak either and has taken the issue straight to GOD! Seriously! !

FINALLY !! common sense finally prevails! Now more than ever these corporate giants that have their hands into these ‘factory farm’ concentration camps DO what they mean to DO and not just replace with something just a ‘little better’. They must not be allowed to water down what needs to be done.

The Humane Society of the United States is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to The Humane Society of the United States are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The HSUS's tax identification number is 53-0225390.